<p>Double degree and percussion - most definitely check out Bard’s new program! It sounds so exciting I’ve seen chatter of students wondering about transferring into it. N8Ma has posted about it on this forum before. It starts next fall.</p>
<p>Here’s from the website:</p>
<p>So Percussion to Direct New Conservatory Percussion Program
The Bard College Conservatory of Music announces the appointment of So Percussion to its faculty. The members of So Percussion Eric Beach, Josh Quillen, Adam Sliwinski, and Jason Treuting will serve as codirectors of the Conservatorys new percussion program, which will admit its first students in Fall 2011.</p>
<p>So Percussions artistry was recently hailed by the New York Times for inspiring in audiences a quiet amazement that could verge on disbelief. Since coming together at the Yale School of Music in 1999, So Percussion has been performing to audience and critical acclaim throughout the United States and abroad. They were also singled out for praise in another New York Times article that declared drums are the new violins. Sos repertoire includes new works written for them by Pulitzer Prize-winning composers Steve Reich and David Lang, plus Paul Lansky, Dan Trueman, Steve Mackey, Fred Frith, Martin Bresnick, and many others. So Percussion will be working closely with the John Cage Trust in residence at Bard College.</p>
<p>In addition to So Percussion, several internationally renowned percussionists will join Bards percussion program faculty. Garry Kvistad, a member of both Nexus Percussion and Steve Reich and Musicians; Jan Williams, emeritus professor of percussion at SUNY Buffalo; and Tzong-Ching Ju, artistic director of Ju Percussion Group of Taiwan, will serve as program advisers. Greg Zuber, principal percussion of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and artist-faculty of the Verbier Music Festival; Jonathan Haas, principal percussion of the American Symphony Orchestra and artist-faculty at the Aspen Music Festival; and Daniel Druckman, chair of the Juilliard percussion program and associate principal percussionist of the New York Philharmonic, will also teach in the new program.</p>
<p>Were delighted to launch our percussion program with this great combination: a cutting-edge ensemble joined by some of the most eminent and influential figures in the percussion world, said Robert Martin, director of The Bard Conservatory of Music.</p>
<p>Bards percussion program will emphasize a combination of basic instruction with individualized exploration of the many facets of percussion playing, including orchestral training, world music, contemporary chamber music, and jazz. Students will have the opportunity to work with roster members through individual lessons, chamber music coaching, and joint faculty-student performances. Students will also perform with the Conservatory Orchestra, and in chamber concerts of the Conservatory. The goal of the program is to prepare each student for specialized postgraduate percussion study based on solid grounding in the basics and familiarity and experience with the wide range of possible specializations.</p>
<p>For information on the admission process for this new program, consult the admission website and the Director of Conservatory Admission, Nathan Madsen, at (845) 758-7604.</p>